Several breaks but stable
Vingegaard not in mortal danger after horror fall
April 4, 2024, 9:02 p.m
Tour hero Jonas Vingegaard falls badly on the Tour of the Basque Country and frightening scenes emerge at the scene of the accident. The Dane breaks several bones, but his team gives the all-clear in the evening.
Jonas Vingegaard lies motionless on the floor for minutes, a huge abrasion on his back, a supervisor kneels in front of the two-time Tour winner and provides first aid. The Danish superstar is then taken to an ambulance on a stretcher, wearing a neck brace and a ventilator.
Vingegaard’s violent crash at the Tour of the Basque Country has sent cycling into shock. A few hours after the accident, his Visma-Lease a bike team gave at least the all-clear: Vingegaard was “stable and conscious” and there would be further examinations in the hospital. These ultimately resulted in a broken collarbone and several broken ribs, as the Dutch racing team announced later that evening. Vingegaard remains in hospital “as a precautionary measure”.
Around 35 km before the finish of the fourth stage, a total of eight riders left the road in a right-hand bend and Vingegaard rushed into a concrete ditch at high speed. The top stars Primoz Roglic (Bora-hansgrohe) and Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-Quick Step) also fell in the same place, but they didn’t have it as bad as Vingegaard.
Leading Roglic has to give up
Giro winner Roglic limped from the scene of the accident. Evenepoel avoided the concrete ditch, but fell on the grass. He was holding his collarbone, his face contorted in pain, and he also had to be taken to the hospital. A little later, Roglic was able to raise his thumb again while sitting in a team car. The trio had to give up the tour after the falls.
Roglic had already fallen on the third stage on Wednesday. The Slovenian suffered abrasions, bruises and bruises, but was able to get back on the bike and defend his overall lead. The tour was considered a preparatory race for the Tour de France for Roglic, Vingegaard and Evenepoel. All three want to fight for overall victory in France.
German riders were not involved in Thursday’s crash. After a long break, the race leaders neutralized the peloton. Only the six breakaways who were well ahead of the field at the time of the accident were “allowed” to compete for victory. This was secured by the South African Louis Meintjes from the Intermarche-Wanty team. Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek) took over the overall lead due to Roglic’s departure. However, the stage was not counted.
Several serious accidents
There have been a number of serious accidents in cycling in recent days. It was only on Wednesday that the German Lennard Kämna had to be taken to hospital after a traffic accident on a training trip; the 27-year-old is in the intensive care unit. He is in a “stable condition, he is awake, responsive and can communicate,” his Bora-hansgrohe team said on Thursday.
Top star Wout van Aert also fell during the one-day race across Flanders. The Belgian suffered a broken sternum, a broken collarbone and several broken ribs in a mass fall. Van Aert has already undergone successful surgery. Last year, the Swiss Gino Mäder died after a serious fall.